Oct 19

Google’s Andy Rubin: ‘six million’ Android-based tablets out there

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, Google, honeycomb, Today's Chili

Google’s Andy Rubin kicked off the opening keynote here at the Asian branch of All Things D (that’s AsiaD, if you’re curious), and he finally cleared up a figure we’ve been wondering about for eons. During a back-and-forth with Walt Mossberg about the proliferation of the iPad and whether or not Android was “a flop” in the tablet market, he affirmed that around six million Android-based tablets were “out there.” Of course, that’s only tablets that access Google services, as those are the only ones Google can account for with any degree of certainty. For comparison’s sake, Apple pushed 15 million iPads onto the market in 2010 alone, selling three million in just 80 days after the launch of the original. In fact, Apple sold 11.12 million iPads in its most recent quarter (9.25 million the one before that), which represented a 166 percent increase year-over-year. Moral of the story? Apple still owns the tablet market, but hey, at least we now know the score.

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Google’s Andy Rubin: ‘six million’ Android-based tablets out there originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 17

Huawei MediaPad passes go at FCC, collects $200

Posted in: 4G, 7-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, dual-core, Google, honeycomb, hspa, qualcomm, t-mobile, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili
Huawei’s mildly anticipated dual-core MediaPad shouldn’t be long now that it’s passed the multimeter-wielding ministrations of the FCC. As per tradition, it was the WiFi-only model that was passed fit for human consumption, but we’re still expecting it to drink from T-Mobile’s well of HSPA+. The 7-inch tablet will have a 1,280 x 800 IPS display, run Honeycomb and should arrive before the holidays for $200 on contract.

Huawei MediaPad passes go at FCC, collects $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 14

Motorola Xoom Family Edition includes kid-friendly apps, will hit Best Buy Sunday for $379

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, BestBuy, education, exclusive, honeycomb, motorola, tablet, Today's Chili, video, xoom

Just a week after we received a tip that a mysterious big box retailer would be getting a kid-friendly flavor of Motorola’s Xoom tablet, Best Buy has come forth to make things official with the Xoom Family Edition. Everything seems to be in line with what we already knew, including the $40 software bundle — yes, yes Zoodles comes preloaded, as does Asphalt 6 and SIM City Deluxe. And after the kids are done playing, mom and dad can catch up on homework with Quickoffice Pro HD. The Android 3.1-powered tablet includes a rather modest 16GB of storage, and will run you $379 when it hits Best Buy stores on Sunday. Any questions? Jump past the break for the full Moto rundown.

Continue reading Motorola Xoom Family Edition includes kid-friendly apps, will hit Best Buy Sunday for $379

Motorola Xoom Family Edition includes kid-friendly apps, will hit Best Buy Sunday for $379 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 10

T-Mobile unveils Galaxy Tab 10.1 and SpringBoard, combines 4G talk with HSPA+ walk

Posted in: 4G, 7-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, dual-core, GalaxyTab, Google, mobilepostcross, samsung, samsung galaxy tab, SamsungGalaxyTab, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili

Sure, rumors and scuttlebutt clued is in that T-Mobile might be seeing a pair of slates landing sometime this year, but we loves us some confirmation. The magenta network just announced that the T-Mobile SpringBoard with Google and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 are primed to launch just soon enough for you to shove some HSPA+ holiday cheer into your relatives’ oversized stockings. The SpringBoard looks very much like the dressed up MediaPad we expected, replete with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5 megapixel rear-facing 720p camera and an SD card slot for up to 32GB of expandable memory — not to mention a 7-inch capacitive touch display, and a 1.3 megapixel camera upfront. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the same Samsung slate we already know and love, but dressed in T-Mobile’s not-quite-4G HSPA+ style. In fact, both tablets sport HSPA+ compatibility and run Android 3.2. There’s no official word on price yet (although that MediaPad was rumored to hover at about $200 on contract), but the press release promises these slabs will drop sometime before the holiday season. Oh, that PR? Just hit the “read more” button below.

Continue reading T-Mobile unveils Galaxy Tab 10.1 and SpringBoard, combines 4G talk with HSPA+ walk

T-Mobile unveils Galaxy Tab 10.1 and SpringBoard, combines 4G talk with HSPA+ walk originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 06

Motorola Xoom Family Edition pops up at retail sporting kid-friendly software

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, education, exclusive, honeycomb, motorola, tablet, Today's Chili, video, xoom

Now that Motorola’s Xoom is ready to rock out on 4G LTE connections, the only thing missing from the original 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet is a nice suite of edutainment software… wait, what? Whether or not that’s what you asked for, it appears to be what Motorola’s giving you judging by this “Family Edition” branded Xoom that just showed up at a big box electronics store. While there’s still no hint of the subwoofer-equipped Xoom 2 Media Edition that’s been rumored, this model is differentiated by the addition of a Kid Mode with $40 of software for kids from Zoodles (trailer after the break) packed-in. We don’t have a release date or official pricing yet, but we’d expect to see the MZ505 on shelves sooner rather than later, but for now just check out a few more pics in the gallery below.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Gallery: Motorola Xoom Family Edition

Continue reading Motorola Xoom Family Edition pops up at retail sporting kid-friendly software

Motorola Xoom Family Edition pops up at retail sporting kid-friendly software originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 06

eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, tablet, Today's Chili

The Nextbooks 1 through 7 may not have caused much of a ripple in the Android tablet market, but eFun is keeping at it, and has now rolled out its new Nextbook Premium 8 model. There’s still no Honeycomb to be found on this one (just Android 2.3), but you do get a slightly larger 8-inch capacitive screen, as well as a Rockchip RK2918 processor, 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera — plus Kobo’s eBook Store app preloaded (though there’s no mention of Android Market). Unfortunately, in a season when you can get a Kindle Fire or Lenovo IdeaPad A1 for $200, this one will set you back a comparatively hefty $300 — then again, it does have “Premium” in its name. Press release is after the break.

Continue reading eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet

eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 04

Firmware update brings Google Talk integration, bug fixes to Archos G9 tablets

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, archos, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, flash, honeycomb, ota, tablet, Today's Chili, update
Listen up, Archos G9 owners, because there’s a hefty firmware update headed your way. The new upgrade, which only recently began rolling out, integrates Google Talk directly within the firmware and introduces a number of bug fixes to the freshly released Honeycomb slates. More specifically, version 3.2.46 brings enhanced volume controls, sharpened camera quality and Flash acceleration support to the eight- and ten-inch tablets, along with a host of other tweaks. For the full list of added features, check out the source link, below.

Firmware update brings Google Talk integration, bug fixes to Archos G9 tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 03

Kindle Fire pre-orders heat up, reportedly reach 95,000

Posted in: 7-inch, amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, kindle, pre-order, PreOrder, slate, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, video

The Kindle Fire won’t be out til November, but it’s already giving off some strong pre-order smoke signals. According to digital marketing firm eDataSource, Amazon’s first tablet has generated enough buzz to pick up just under 100,000 orders — an estimate based on a sample of 800,000 e-mail users. Even with these rosy estimates, however, Amazon still has a long way to go before it catches up with Apple, which sold 300,000 iPads on its debut. But we’re guessing that the Fire’s $199 price tag probably won’t hurt its chances.

Kindle Fire pre-orders heat up, reportedly reach 95,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 02

Switched On: Assets in gear

Posted in: amazon, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, column, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, kindle, Microsoft, sony, switched on, SwitchedOn, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, windows 8, Windows7, Windows8

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Ecosystems take years to build and depend on other companies. Really, who has the time these days? Plus, they kick in only if a product reaches critical mass. Microsoft and SanDisk demonstrated the risk a few years back with their digital media players in seeding the market with third-party cases and docks using their own proprietary and now abandoned connectors. Over the past year, though, we’ve seen a number of tech companies take a new approach to mobile product development — the corporate showcase — where they convincingly shun any notion of silos by throwing just about everything they’ve got into a product.

Continue reading Switched On: Assets in gear

Switched On: Assets in gear originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, att, bluetooth, camera, feature, Google, honeycomb, hspa, review, reviewed, Reviews, Today's Chili, video, wifi, wwan

We waited nearly the entire summer for the Acer Iconia Tab A501 to break daylight. Now that it’s finally shone its uber-glossy face, we were anxious to see if the “4G” HSPA+ model is worth the extra coin (or two year ball-and-chain, should you go that route) over the standard A500. If you have little fear of commitment, signing the dotted line will get you one 16GB slate for $330 — plus the added cost of a capped data allowance or a pay-as-you go plan. Not down to hitch up to the contract wagon? Cool with us… but you’ll pay $150 more to get your hands on one of these. So is settling down for two of the Earth’s rotations with the same tablet a wise move? Are you better off sticking with the WiFi-only model? Read on to see what we discovered when we took the A501 for a spin.

Gallery: Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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